


There's no such thing...

by jadehqknb



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Halloween, Haunted House, M/M, Spooky, but I don't want anyone to get upset at not getting warned, implied major character death, or at least disapperance, which kinda spoils the fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 06:16:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16213178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadehqknb/pseuds/jadehqknb





	There's no such thing...

“So is this a trick or a treat you’re dragging me to?” Tsukishima’s tone is droll as he shuffles along the leaf-covered street, some of which get pulled up into the wind, dancing along its current; he wishes he could fly away too.

Next to him, clad in a ridiculous cat hoodie (complete with ears) over his jeans, walks Kuroo.

“Dragging? You don’t look under duress to me,” he drawls. “Besides, don’t you like surprises?”

“No,” Tsukishima deadpans.

It’s true that Kuroo may not be physically accosting him to go wherever it is they’re headed but he’s a persistent shit who always seems to get his way regardless, so it feels the same. But Tsukishima doesn’t bother elaborating on any of that, not wanting to give Kuroo any indication his provocations work… outside of their results in his favor.

“So moody,” Kuroo sighs, dramatically draping his arm and half his weight over Tsukishima’s shoulders. “I mean, it can technically be both you know,” he whispers, hot breath tickling Tsukishima’s ear.

The blonde pushes him off, tells himself his pink cheeks are the result of the biting wind and not the suggestive tone lacing Kuroo’s words. He snaps, “Did you stop working out, Kuroo-san? You feel a bit heavy.”

“So rude, Tsukki. Besides, muscle weighs more than fat. I’d show you the evidence to dispel your claim but you gotta earn that. Plus it’s freezing outside.”

“That’s a myth, how are you even in science if you don’t know that?” Tsukishima turns his head to look at the bleak scenery, unwilling to show Kuroo the effect of his words.

“Just trying to save my bruised ego. You’re so cruel.”

Tsukishima snorts but says nothing, shoves his hands deeper in his pockets seeking warmth from the wind. He jolts at the feel of Kuroo’s arm lacing through his, casting a sideways glance chock full of annoyance.

“What, you look cold,” his companion says.

“Uh huh,” Tsukishima mumbles but makes no effort to move away, steadfastly ignoring the smug look of satisfaction he catches on the other man’s face.

“Hey! Tsukki! Tetsu! Hey!”

Tsukishima groans, knowing that raucous voice anywhere. Sure enough, barreling towards the pair, comes Bokuto, his wide eyes bright and shining, waving like a fool. Much as Tsukishima begrudgingly respects Bokuto as a former training camp senpai and current national player, his anxiety rises when in the presence of his exuberance. He braces for impact only to be surprised when Bokuto manages to skid to a stop, broad chest heaving before he wraps both Tsukishima and Kuroo in what is probably the strongest bear hug of their lives. Their arms press together rather painfully, and Tsukishima would get an eyeful of hair were it not for his glasses.

“I missed you two so much!” Bokuto says, much too loud for his proximity to their ears making them wince.

Kuroo somehow manages to extract his other arm and pats Bokuto on the back twice; “Ok, we give big guy, gotta breath, ya know.”

“Oh, right, sorry!” Bokuto releases them, but stays close, his mile-wide smile still in place; “It’s just been so long since we saw each other!”

“Yeah, yeah, we missed you too,” Kuroo says giving another pat.

Tsukishima ignores the elevation in his heart rate at the “we” comment, clearing his throat and taking a wide side step away from them. “Where’s Akaashi-san?” he asks, assuming that if Bokuto is in town, his other half can't be far behind.

“At the house! Wait till you see it, it’s amazing!”

“House?” Tsukishima asks quirking one eyebrow and glancing at Kuroo.

“Gah! Bo! You ruined the surprise!” Kuroo complains.

“I only said house, not haunted!” Bokuto protests.

“Except you just did,” Tsukishima snickers.

“It’s fine Bo,” Kuroo says, slinging a reassuring arm around his broad back and urging him forward, “it’ll still scare the shit out him.”

“You do know Sugawara-san is infamous for his horror movie marathons right? I’m pretty much immune to fear by now,” Tsukishima says, falling in behind them. He is not eyeing Kuroo’s arm around Bokuto with envy, he is not.

“Oh but that’s all make believe, child,” Kuroo croons over his shoulder, that damn smirk back in place, “let’s see how you do with real terror in the real world.”

“I’m appalled you call yourself a man of science Kuroo-san.”

“Hey, science can’t explain everything ya know! And even if it could, where’s the fun in that? It’s exciting not knowing everything!” Bokuto says, his good mood restored. “I mean, look at Shoyou! He’s an anonymous of nature!”

“I think you mean, anomaly, Bo,” Kuroo says through a laugh. He adds a second later, “Oh hey, there’s Akaashi. Yo! Akaashi!” He waves and so does Bokuto.

Ahead, Tsukishima spots said male standing with his usual air of indifference, though he does wave in return. Behind him is a semi-run down family home and it’s only now that Tsukishima notices it’s damn quiet around here. He turns his head back and forth, unsure how he didn’t pick up until now that the street is deserted, the house set in a cul de sac butting up against what looks to be a wooded area.

“So, that’s your grand haunted house?” he asks in a bored tone. He’ll never admit the image called to mind was a home more suited to the western hemisphere but he can’t help the influence of those same movies referenced earlier.

“Wait until you get inside, you’ll see what we’re talking about,” Kuroo assures, releasing Bokuto who bounds up to Akaashi like an overeager puppy. Tsukishima half expects the brunette to pat the other on the head.

“Hello Tsukishima-san, how’ve you been?” Akaashi asks in his polite quiet manner.

“Fine, thank you Akaashi-san, and you?”

Akaashi shrugs noncommittedly, casting a glance at Bokuto who is peering into the dusty windows looking for who knows what. But as his eyes settle on the other, a faint half-smile appears; “We’ve been good.”

There’s that “we” word again. Tsukishima finds himself fighting against his eyeballs to not look in Kuroo’s direction where he stands by the door. Instead, he says, “You know, when I was coerced into coming with you, I don’t remember agreeing to breaking and entering.”

“The place is abandoned and unlocked,” Kuroo replies smoothly.

“Doesn’t make it any less illegal,” Tsukishima returns snottily.

“You know, if you’re scared, I can just hold your hand, there’s no reason to make lame excuses.”

“Maintaining my status as a law abiding citizen isn’t lame.”

Kuroo sighs and grabs his wrist, the contact more electric than should be allowed; “You hung around Dai-san too much, his sense of law and order must have rubbed off on you. Shoulda figured he’d become a cop back in the day.” He gives a fond grin that Tsukishima doesn’t miss. “How is the thick-thighed wonder these days?”

Tsukishima pulls his wrist away, crosses his arms and frowns; he is not pouting. “Um, I wouldn’t know really, we kinda lost touch with him working on his career and me in school. But I did run into Azumane-san at the bakery and he mentioned they were doing well.”

He doesn’t miss that Kuroo doesn’t miss the inconsistency with his answer but thankfully he shows an iota of intelligence and leaves it be; “Huh, kinda figured there was something between them back in the day, glad to see it worked out well.”

“So, are we going to stand around gossiping all night or go inside? It’s getting colder,” Akaashi says, breaking the tense silence that suddenly enveloped the taller males.

“Yeah and don’t look so gloomy, this is gonna be fun!” Bokuto says.

“How can disturbing the dead be fun?” Tsukishima asks, thankful for the distraction that is Bokuto Koutarou for once.

“Now you’re a believer?” Kuroo snarks.

“Hardly, just trying to get into the spirit of the night.”

“Oh, a pun! I am rubbing off on you, Tsukki!” Kuroo laughs, once again laying an arm around him.

“Shut up,” Tsukishima complains but forgets himself and leans into the hold; he can always claim to be cold later if need be, but the smile on Kuroo’s face tells him he won’t buy it.

“Shall we?” Kuroo asks them and they all nod. He releases Tsukishima to open the door, sliding his arm down the other’s to his hand and grasps it, pulling him inside. Behind follow Akaashi and Bokuto, also holding hands.

Tsukishima was expecting a common if dusty entryway given the normalcy of the exterior of the house but as soon as both feet cross the threshold, a wave of unease overtakes him so forcefully, he stops dead in his tracks, Bokuto cannoning into him, sending him flying into Kuroo who works to keep them all upright.

“Woah, steady there, you ok?” he asks, giving the hand he holds a squeeze.

Tsukishima nods, works to keep his voice even but he can hear the quiver nonetheless and only hopes it isn’t picked up by the other three; “Yeah, fine, sorry. Tripped on the floorboard."

“Which one? Should we nail it down?” Bokuto asks but Akaashi drags him away from the spot, clearly aware of Tsukishima’s blunder and embarrassment but too kind to give him shit for it.

Kuroo on the other hand… “Loose floorboard?” He taps his foot and when Tsukishima looks down he's loathed to find no floorboards in sight; damn it.

If Tsukishima’s cheeks weren’t red before, they certainly are now but the house is dark enough he feels it could go unnoticed.

“Come on, let’s take a look around,” Kuroo continues, pulling him towards the staircase.

Tsukishima sighs but goes along, figuring the sooner they do their “ghost hunt” the sooner he can go home, though he does admit, if only to himself, that he’s glad of Kuroo’s hand in his; he’d merely prefer it be in a less potentially character damaging setting.

“So what’s the story with this place?” Tsukishima asks as they reach the second-floor landing, more to fill the eerie silence than real interest. No doubt it’s a generic story of murder, revenge or some other such nonsense.

“No idea at all, Bokuto was told about it from some guy who said it was a literal scream,” Kuroo replies.

Tsukishima pulls him up, asking in a hurried whisper, “Are you insane? Coming to an abandoned house that some random guy told your 'shy a few tools in his toolbox' friend about? And what was all that shit you were spewing earlier?”

Kuroo shrugs. “Just setting the tone, and why not? Seemed a fun thing to do for Halloween since somebody didn't want to go trick or treating."

“I can’t believe you lot are older than me, geez,” Tsukishima sighs in exasperation. “For all we know the guy’s a lunatic or a murderer or both!”  


Kuroo chuckles, adding irritation to Tsukishima’s apprehension; “Dude, it’s not like we told him we’d go or when. Relax, at worst it’s a stunt or prank show and then hey, we’ll be on TV!”

Tsukishima feels his eyebrow twitch. “A show they run twenty-four hours waiting for idiots to come in this house?”

“Side note: you just called yourself an idiot. And no, if anything it’s probably a web show, much cheaper to run.”

“If I end up a meme, I’ll kill you.”

“At least then the place would actually be haunted cause I’d come back seeking vengeance,” Kuroo laughs only it cuts short and his eyes go wide as he stares down the hallway.

Tsukishima feels the hair on the back of his neck starting to stand on end at the look of near fear Kuroo is sporting. Slowly he looks over his shoulder, peering into the darkened threshold of the bedroom at the end of the passage. If he squints he thinks he can see something… something white and… is that a face?

“Boo!”

Tsukishima screams, tripping over his feet as he hurries towards the stairs nearly tumbling down in his effort to just get out. A firm grip on his shoulder has him whirling back around, coming face to face with a laughing Kuroo. Lights flicker on in the hallway revealing Bokuto’s form doubled over in laughter while Akaashi stands by, his hand still on the light switch, the only one showing any sort of regret for the scare.

  
“You asshole!” Tsukishima shouts, ripping out of Kuroo’s hold, “what the actual fuck is wrong with you? I could have killed myself!” He eyes the stairs warily, a rush of fear rolling over him at what could have happened if Kuroo hadn’t been there to hold him up.

“Yes, but you didn’t, you’re fine,” Kuroo says through his continued chuckles.

Tsukishima is just about to smack the look of satisfaction off his face when the lights flicker then go out, plunging them into full darkness. From down the hall, there are startled exclamations but they cut short leaving a heavy silence.

“Ha, ha, very funny Akaashi,” Kuroo calls down the hall into the dark.

Nothing.

“Hey guys, alright, we got him, you can turn the lights back on.”

Still, there’s no reply.

Tsukishima isn’t sure whether this is still part of the prank and so remains perfectly still, but he’s close enough to Kuroo to hear his breathing and it’s slowly becoming more erratic. “Guys, come on, let’s go, joke’s over,” Kuroo insists, an undercurrent of what sounds like real concern lacing his tone.

“Did your cronies go rogue?” Tsukishima asks but his voice holds little malice, his nerves on edge. He jumps when Kuroo grabs his hand, concerned at how calmly his palm feels. Kuroo may be a good actor but unless he hid a water bottle in his jacket and wet his hand for effect, he’s really scared now which is scaring Tsukishima.

“Tsukki, this… something’s wrong. I know you probably don’t trust me-” 

“Huh, wonder why that is…”

“But I swear to you, this isn’t part of the plan. At least not mine. And Bokuto’s too impatient for a punchline to go this long without saying something. Plus, isn’t it weird that we don’t hear anything at all? Not even them moving around?” Kuroo's voice trembles lending credence to his claim that he doesn't know what's going on and it frightens him. 

Tsukishima does wonder about the lack of sound. The bottom floor may have been laminate but up here there's older wood, almost as if the downstairs were more modernized while the upstairs never got finished because when he shifts his feet the distinct sound of creaking wood is heard.

“Akaashi-san, Bokuto-san, can you hear us?” Tsukishima calls, tightening his grip in Kuroo’s hand.

It shouldn’t be possible but it seems as if the darkness… is getting darker. Almost as though he were closing his eyes but he’s not, they’re wide own, seeking light, searching for a sign of life at the end of the hall but only finding more darkness, a deep, crawling, growing darkness. Somewhere in his mind, he’s screaming at himself to not be like every idiot he’s yelled at on the TV while watching those stupid horror movies with the team back in high school. They need to move, but remain rooted to the spot staring at where their friends should be laughing at them, should be indicating their presence but there’s only darkness.

“Ku… Kuroo-san, we need to move… we need to move now!” Tsukishima sounds desperate to his own ears but there’s something _there_ in the dark, he knows it and it’s coming for them.

With a herculean effort, he tears his eyes from the pursuing blackness, his hand pulling Kuroo along. He missteps and tumbles down the same stairs the man behind him saved him from but somehow they manage not to break anything--namely their necks--landing heavily at the bottom. Tsukishima can hear it now; a low growling, grating noise coming from behind, almost as though whatever it is waited for them to stop looking at it before making itself known. He doesn’t think, just reacts, still pulling Kuroo along towards the door, where a sliver of moonlight peeks through cracks in the dust. By the time they reach the door, he swears he feels the hot breath of death on his neck (he always thought it would be cold) and half expects their exit to be locked.

But it isn’t and they burst out into the cold of the night, falling to the ground then staring back at the house. Every window, every crack, every crevice is pitch black, until in the center of the door, blinks open one, yellow eye.

Tsukishima is too terrified to scream, but Kuroo isn’t, his shriek of horror echoing down the empty street, the agony of his cries for their friends drawing tears to Tsukishima’s eyes. The abomination continues to stare for a moment longer before the door slams shut and the darkness recedes. Tsukishima sits numb, silently gathering Kuroo into his arms and holds him, both their bodies shaking in fear, the cold settling into their bones but they can’t leave, not without their friends.

It takes a long time for the dawn to break but the moment sunbeams hit the house, they gather their courage and head back inside.

“We should get help,” Kuroo says weakly.

“From who? The neighborhood looks just as abandoned as the house and even if we found anyone, who’s gonna believe us?” Tsukishima asks.

“I… I don’t know… it was just supposed to be a joke… just a joke…” Kuroo’s words fall away, soft weeping replacing them.

It’s slow going but they search the whole house only to come up empty; Bokuto and Akaashi are nowhere to be found.

“Wha… what are we gonna do?” Kuroo asks as they return to the outside. His voice is laced with pain and worse… guilt.

Tsukishima can only stare dumbly at the house, shaking his head; he has no clue.

  
  
  



End file.
